The present invention relates to methods and devices for playing a new casino card game using playing cards and based upon a Baccarat format where card values are summed modulo ten. A two card hand is dealt to a dealer and to each player. The dealer receives at least a third card exposed to all players. Each player opts to receive a third card to improve each of their hands. Depending upon the count of the dealer""s first two cards, the dealer includes the value of the third card in summing his hand. Between each player and the dealer the one with the highest hand count wins.
Baccarat is one of the many live table games played in casinos or gaming establishments. Baccarat uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards and is usually dealt from a shoe having multiple decks that have been shuffled together prior to the beginning of play.
The object of the game of Baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the surrogate Banker hand or the surrogate Player hand is going to win, e.g. have a hand count, modulo ten, closest to the target count of 9. The bettor receives even money for his wager if he selects the winning hand and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand. Because of the rules of play of Baccarat and more particularly the pre-established draw rules, the Banker hand has a slightly higher chance of winning than does the Player""s hand. Therefore, if the bettor wagers on the Banker hand and the Banker hand wins, the bettor must pay to the gaming establishment a commission (typically, 5%) of the amount the bettor wins. No commission is paid if the bettor successfully wagers on the Player hand.
As used in this specification, the term xe2x80x9cConventional Manner of Play of Baccaratxe2x80x9d is as follows:
A multiple number of decks of standard playing cards, 52 in number, are used; typically eight decks are shuffled together and placed in a shoe from which the cards are dealt during the play of the game.
Each bettor makes a wager on whether the Bank""s hand or the Player""s hand will win. After all wagers are made, two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Bank position and two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Player position on the table layout. The cards are turned face up and the values of the Bank hand and the Player hand are determined, modulo ten.
Aces count one; Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens count zero and the other cards count their respective face value. The suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs) have no meaning in Baccarat.
The highest hand value in Baccarat is nine. All hand values range from a low of zero to a high of nine. If when the cards are added together, the total of the hand exceeds nine, then the hand value is determined modulo ten. For example, a seven and a eight total fifteen, but the hand value is five. An Ace and a nine total ten, but the hand value is zero.
A two card total of eight or nine is called a xe2x80x9cnaturalxe2x80x9d; a two card total of zero is called a xe2x80x9cbaccarat.xe2x80x9d As will be explained below, in certain situations in the play of the game, a third card will be dealt. The value of this third card is added to the total of the first two cards and a new hand value is established. Again, if the new hand total exceeds nine, the hand value is determined by subtracting ten from the total of the hand.
Prior to the deal, each bettor can make one of three wagers: 1) that the Bank hand will win; 2) that the Player hand will win; or 3) that the Bank hand and the Player hand will tie. Wagering locations are provided on the Baccarat table layout. Whichever of the Bank hand or the Player hand is closest to a total on nine is the winner.
All winning Bank hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the house charges a five percent (5%) commission on the amount won by the bettor. For example, if a bettor wagers $100 on the Bank hand and the Bank hand wins, the bettor wins $100 and is charged a $5 commission on the amount that the bettor won. The bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his wager.
All winning Player hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his winnings or his wager because the house Banker hand, by virtue of the third card draw rules, has a statistical advantage over the Player hand. Winning wagers on the Tie hand bet are paid off at odds of nine-to-one or eight-to-one (depending on the gaming establishment) and the bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his winnings or his wager since there is already a statistical advantage in favor of the house on tie wagers. If a Tie hand occurs, all wagers on the Bank hand and all wagers on the Player hand are xe2x80x9cpushesxe2x80x9d and the amount wagered is returned to the bettor.
Depending on the point total of the Player""s hand and the Banker""s hand, one more card may be dealt to either the Player""s hand, the Banker""s hand or both. The rules for determining whether a third card is dealt are fixed rules; there is no discretion for either the Player""s hand or the Banker""s hand on whether a third card is dealt.
If either the Player hand or the Banker hand has a point total of eight or nine on the first two cards, no third card is dealt to either hand and the hand with the highest point total is the winner (or the hand is a Tie, as the case may be). If neither the Player hand nor the Banker hand has a point total of eight or nine, then there is a possibility of a third card draw.
The third card draw rules are as follows:
Rule #1: If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the Player hand draws a third card. If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Player hand stands and does not receive a third card.
Rule #2: If the Player hand stands and does not draw a third card, then the Bank hand follows Rule #1. In other words, if the Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Bank hand draws a third card on a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the Bank hand stands on a point total of 6 or 7.
Rule #3: If the Player hand draws a third card, the Bank hand must draw or stand as follows:
The draw rules for Conventional baccarat are summarized in Table 1 below.
At the end of each hand, winning wagers are paid and losing wagers are collected by the house. Any commission due to the house is marked in commission boxes in the center of the table. Gaming chips are used to represent the amount of money owed by each bettor to the house for the commissions. In order not to slow down the game, the commission is not actually collected from each bettor until the end of the round determined by all of the cards in the shoe being dealt down to the plastic cut card, usually approximately eighty hands.
In my prior patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,309 issued Jun. 25, 1996 I disclosed a game based on Baccarat where the dealer resolves his hand to a final hand before any action by each player. Inoue, U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,979 issued May 16, 2000 discloses an electronic Baccarat game having a video display. Among the initial four cards dealt to player and banker, one of them is randomly hidden. Cabot et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,295 issued Jun. 21, 1994 discloses a multi-hand Blackjack game where the dealer receives two cards and discards the least favorable, retaining the remaining card as an up card.
There is a need for an improved Baccarat-type game method and device which is not constrained by complicated draw rules which tend to confuse all but the most experienced players. The lack of player participation in drawing a card is still an unresolved problem in conventional Baccarat. There is also a need for a Baccarat-type game where each player wagers on their own, individual hand instead of a common Player/Banker hand, and each player has the choice to stand on their two-card hand or to draw an additional card in an attempt to improve their hand.
There is, therefore, set forth according to the present invention a Baccarat-type game which is not governed by complicated and strict third card draw rules, which provides for each of a plurality of players to play their own hand with the option to draw a third card in an attempt to better their hand and which provides for a new manner in which the dealer""s hand is displayed and played and which still provides the casino with a desired profit margin.
Accordingly there is set forth an improved method for playing a Baccarat-type game a using a deck (or multiple decks) of playing cards and where hand counts are determined modulo ten and where the target hand value is nine. The improvement includes each player making a wager on their individual hand to participate in the game. A dealer representing the casino deals two cards to each player and two cards face down to a dealer position. At least one additional, third dealer card is dealt, face up, to the dealer position. Each player examines their two cards and opts to stand or receive a third player card in an attempt to improve their final, player hand, count of between 0 and 9. Upon completion of all of the players"" hand(s) the dealer, according to the following rules, completes the dealer hand: (i) if the dealer position two-card count, modulo ten, is 7-9 the third dealer card is ignored and the count of the first two cards defines the dealer final hand count and (ii) if the first two card hand count is other than 7-9, the dealer sums the value of the third dealer card with the other two dealer cards, modulo ten, to define a dealer hand final count between 0 and 9. Each player""s final hand count is compared to the dealer final hand count and (i) if the player final hand count is greater than the dealer""s final hand count, the player wins and receives an award based on their wager, less any imposed commission, (ii) if the dealer final hand count is greater than the player""s final hand count, the dealer hand wins and the player""s wager is collected and (iii) declaring a tie if the player and dealer hand counts are equal. The game may provide for optional tie wagers by the players.
Other dealer two card hand counts may be used to determine when the third dealer card is to be ignored or included in summing the dealer""s hand. Further, inclusion of the third dealer card, may be optional, depending upon whether the third card will improve the count of the dealer""s hand.
In another embodiment, the dealer hand may be dealt a third and a fourth card face up, with the higher count of the two (with face cards and 10s considered as xe2x80x9c10xe2x80x9d and the highest count OR modulo ten with the foregoing valued as xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d), excluded from play.
The device according to the present invention includes a computer processor for controlling the game, a data structure storing data representing each playing card of a deck of playing cards and means for randomly selecting playing card data from said data structure. A video display is provided as well as are means for at least one player to enter a wager and prompt the play of the game. The processor is configured to, upon prompting of play, select and display two cards for each player hand and two cards face down for an initial dealer hand and a third dealer card face up. Means are provided for each player to prompt the processor to accept the cards of the initial player hand or prompt the processor to select and display an additional card for the player hand to define one of a two or three card final hand, the cards of the player final hand summed modulo ten to define a player hand final count between 0 and 9. The processor is also configured to, upon completion of all player final hand, sum the values of the cards of the initial dealer hand and (i) if the two card, modulo ten, count is 7-9 accept the count of the initial dealer hand two cards defining the dealer final hand count ignoring the third card by, for example, displaying an xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d partially through or blotting out the third card and (ii) if the two initial card hand count is other than 7-9, the processor controlling the display to include the third dealer card and sum its value with the other two dealer cards, modulo ten, to define a dealer hand final count between 0 and 9. The processor compares the player final hand count with the dealer final hand and (i) if the player final hand count is greater than the dealer""s final hand count, issues an award to the player based on their wager, (ii) if the dealer final hand count is greater than the player""s final hand count, collect the player""s wager and (iii) declaring a tie if the player and dealer hand counts are equal.
Other dealer initial hand counts may be used to determine under what conditions the dealer third card will be included in the dealer final hand count. Further the processor may be configured to select and display a third and a fourth dealer card and eliminate from play the higher of the two third and fourth cards (with face cards and 10s considered as xe2x80x9c10xe2x80x9d and the highest count OR modulo ten with the foregoing valued as xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d), designating the remaining card as the dealer third card.
According to further aspects the method and device may provide for exacting a commission on player winning hands, providing for a tie wager and the like. Further, the device may be incorporated into an Internet based game provided to remote players at their respective terminals.